The presentation concerns collaborative work between CPDOC (School of Social Sciences of the Getulio Vargas Foundation) and the Apinajé People. The work originated with the donation of Brazilian anthropologist Roberto DaMatta's personal archive to CPDOC after conducting a long-life story interview for the "Memory of Social Sciences in Brazil" project. The donation was made in February 2022. This collection included records made by DaMatta during his seasons of ethnographic research among the Apinajé indigenous people between 1962 and 1970, for his doctoral thesis. There are around 3,000 photos that record the people, places, and rituals of the Apinajé People. The archive also included dozens of cassette recordings and at least one Super-8 film made by the anthropologist. Contact was then made with the Apinajé People to help identify this material. The contact soon led to the establishment of more in-depth collaborative work, which involves the organization and constitution of a historical-cultural heritage of great importance for the Apinajé. In addition, the first three indigenous students were admitted to the CPDOC postgraduate course, and the first course taught by indigenous teachers at the institution was offered, on “Apinajé Language, Culture and Society,” for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The archival work will establish a methodology for treating historical-cultural documentation of indigenous peoples and other minorities. The effect of receiving this file led to the search for new files. We now have a much larger set of documents, which was unknown to the Apinajé People. The presentation will allow us to follow the unanticipated paths that unfolded, starting from an oral history interview, which included creating and donating a personal archive, the emergence of applied collaborative research, and new developments for CPDOC's teaching activity.